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Georgia had been on my travel bucket list for a couple of years, waiting for a perfect opportunity for me to sit down and do the proper planning. Mind you, it took 3 months before I was able to embark on my urban exploration quest.

When I started preparing for the journey, I had already been photographing abandoned places for nearly four years. Having captured many places to see all over Europe - Poland, Germany, and Portugal among them - I felt an urge to aim for something unique, something that would ignite a spark of adventure back into my traveler's life.

Winter was drawing to a close by the time we had arrived in Georgia. By the time the first five days of the trip were over, we had traveled high and wide across Georgia searching for tourist attractions and historical places, albeit not quite blessed with the gentlest weather. Oftentimes, it would impede our efforts to take shots of the stunning scenery.

The last couple of days were busy with us photographing former Sanatoriums. Some of them, for the past 25 years, had sheltered refugees in Western Georgia who escaped the war in Abkhazia, which, incidentally, came to be our next destination a few days later. Personally, I found the war to be still very much present in people's minds, creating a fragile, somewhat corrupt, and lawless land.

Driving through the small villages to our first photography destination, I was silent. I stared through the window trying to make sense of the surroundings, as the traveling itself was rather surreal. We drove past abandoned buildings that once were grandeur homes, factories, warehouses, and cars mixed in with beautiful rolling mountains and green vegetation.

On a few occasions, I had to remind myself that this journey was about the overall series, a body of work and not just the singular shots - not that Abkhazia had no portfolio shots to offer - yet, in my mind, the historical buildings were meant to complement each other this time around.

And as I stood atop these marvelous landmarks I was constantly reminded of all the history that had happened there, photographing the architecture designs in their prime.

You see, the thing about this land and about this journey, too, was that every turn and corner were a surprise. Abkhazia was raw, and it was also beautiful with its charming residents but most of all - the de-facto state just screamed photogenic.

More info: Instagram | jameskerwin.uk

#2

A Grand Train Station Wing

A Grand Train Station Wing

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#3

A Disused Park Restaurant

A Disused Park Restaurant

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#4

A Small Wooden Bridge Near Gagra

A Small Wooden Bridge Near Gagra

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#5

A Disused Rail Bridge In The Mountains

A Disused Rail Bridge In The Mountains

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#6

An Abandoned Sanatorium/Hotel

An Abandoned Sanatorium/Hotel

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#7

An Abandoned Sanatorium/Hotel

An Abandoned Sanatorium/Hotel

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cocora-embra avatar
Coco
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

look at the view!! How come there's nobody interested about living there??

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#8

Inside The Former Government Building

Inside The Former Government Building

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#10

Beautiful Staircase Inside An Abandoned Hotel

Beautiful Staircase Inside An Abandoned Hotel

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#11

A Park Entrance

A Park Entrance

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#12

Small Decaying Train Station

Small Decaying Train Station

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flutterbies78 avatar
LemonyLickit
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's interesting that there are so many abandoned train stations.

#13

Former Restaurant On The Coast

Former Restaurant On The Coast

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#14

Grand Station In The Rain

Grand Station In The Rain

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#15

Black And Red Shell Of A Former Train Station In Sukhumi

Black And Red Shell Of A Former Train Station In Sukhumi

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Gvantsa Jugheli
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

don't trust wikipedia in everything, it's Sokhumi, only russians are pronouncing with "u". doesn't really matters that much, just saying. you are doing great job and photos are so beautiful, sad, nostalgic, with soul. thank you.

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#16

The Small Villages In The Mountains Left A Lasting Impression

The Small Villages In The Mountains Left A Lasting Impression

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#17

A Lonely Piano Resides In A Former School

A Lonely Piano Resides In A Former School

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#18

The Upstairs Of A Derelict Theater

The Upstairs Of A Derelict Theater

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#21

An Electric Sub Station Lacking A Roof

An Electric Sub Station Lacking A Roof

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